This study is the result of a qualitative research, based on semi-structured interviews with 15 Brazilian professional dancers with experience in dance companies in Rio de Janeiro, which are inserted in a predominantly informal and unstructured labor market. It focuses the main variables that guide the career decisions of these artists, as well as the impact that their career choices have over their lives, in terms of consequences, frustrations and challenges. From the perspective of the actual discourse about employability, and based on the concepts of psychological contract (ROUSSEAU, 1995) and organizational commitment (MEYER; ALLEN, 1991), this research also investigates the nature of the links developed between employer and employee and the issues that generate dancers (dis)satisfaction with the relations established with their companies. In short, the results point to the following axes as the main factors of dissatisfaction of dancers: the employer’s lack of respect in their daily interaction, the implementation of a discard policy with subordinates, and the lack of clarity and consistency of institutional communication. Regarding the link established with their companies, the study identified high levels of normative commitment among the dancers, as well as affective commitment (particularly in the case of dancers involved in companies with no continuous sponsor) and of continuity (essentially among dancers that have conquered salaries above the average of Rio s dance market). Last but not least, the data indicated that dancers tend to be individuals with high level of career and professional commitment (working with dance/art and being a dancer).